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If council votes to allow a casino in Toronto and MGM ends up winning a tender by Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp., its “integrated resort” will include an outpost of the Montreal-based circus empire, Alan Feldman, MGM’s senior vice-president of public affairs, said in an interview Tuesday.

“Our colleagues at Cirque would love to have a permanent home in Toronto. They see, as we do, this incredible cosmopolitan global destination, one that would work very well for them,” said Las Vegas-based Feldman, adding it could be a circus theatre, themed nightclub or “several things.”

Feldman’s Monday-Wednesday Toronto visit has included several stops on city hall’s second floor, where he bumped into Jan Jones, his Caesars Entertainment counterpart also in town, lobbying city officials.

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Feldman — whose company has a small army of local lobbyists and publicists on the case, plus the polling-research firm run by Mayor Rob Ford’s former chief of staff Nick Kouvalis — met with Councillors Josh Colle, Norm Kelly, Paul Ainslie, Frank Di Giorgio, Vince Crisanti and John Parker, and planned to meet with Gloria Lindsay Luby.

He told them MGM wants to build a $3 billion to $4 billion resort with a 1,000-room hotel, convention space, restaurants, entertainment and shopping — a complex that would succeed only if it boosts tourism to Toronto. It would directly create 8,000 new jobs, including 5,000 in construction over three years, Feldman claimed.

MGM’s preferred location is Exhibition Place, possibly with some family-friendly attractions on the Ontario Place side of Lake Shore Blvd. W., but the company is willing to look at other downtown Toronto locations.

Colle (Ward 15, Eglinton Lawrence) called his meeting with Feldman “informative,” but he wants to know exactly how much revenue the city would get. Ainslie (Ward 43, Scarborough East) is still not sold one way or another and said he told Feldman: “It’s great you say you’re running a resort but, when it comes down to it, people say you’re running a casino.”

Ford’s executive will receive a staff report next month outlining the pros and cons of a local casino and specific locations. Few involved in the discussions expect full council to have its say before early 2013.

Feldman said an MGM casino-resort could “tie together” existing Exhibition facilities, such as the convention-hosting Direct Energy Centre, and would only enhance The Ex.

“We’d be using maybe 10 or 20 per cent of Exhibition Place’s 200 acres … (The Ex) is an important part of the cultural heritage of Ontario and I wouldn’t want to see that go,” he said.

Canadian National Exhibition president Brian Ashton expressed doubt that a resort could be squeezed into free space on the grounds.

“When you look at the layout of space and heritage buildings, taking 20 to 40 acres of usable space and making it private would leave little public waterfront property for events like the CNE, other festivals, and public use,” he said. “It’s like giving away the crown jewels and trying to keep the Queen.”

Kouvalis, a controversial figure who still has close ties to Ford’s office, told the Star in an email that his company, Campaign Research, was hired by MGM-contracted lobbyists Sussex Strategy. Kouvalis and Sussex partner Jamie Besner were both on Ford’s trade mission to Chicago last week, but both said they did not talk casinos with Ford or other city officials.

“Sussex Strategy (lobbyists) retained us for public opinion research” on the MGM file, Kouvalis wrote in response to questions from the Star. “We do not lobby — any findings shared with councillors is only done at their request and with Sussex. Similarly, we have not discussed this file with the mayor.”

Polling for MGM, he added, “found that a majority of Torontonians support a resort destination with casino that creates thousands of jobs, millions in revenues, and if located at Exhibition Place could help reinvigorate Ontario Place.”

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